Haute 100 Los Angeles Update: Jeffrey Skoll

Our Haute 100 list details the accomplishments of the most influential people in each of our markets—Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These people continue to make moves, so rather than waiting for the next Haute 100 issue to come out, we thought we’d provide you with regular updates on those Haute 100 members who are making headlines. Yesterday we updated you on what Jeffrey Skoll has had his hands in since leaving eBay, and today, we’re shedding light on Skoll’s latest film, “Waiting for “Superman,“ which targets the education system in the United States.

Jeffrey Skoll

Category: Entrepreneurs

Company: eBay

Industry: Internet

What Made Him Haute: The second employee and first president of renowned online auction house eBay, Skoll has put his earnings towards philanthropy. His independent film production company, Participant Productions, is behind the Academy Award-winning An Inconvenient Truth.

What Makes Him Haute Now: From pumping gas in Toronto to getting an M.B.A. from Stanford to becoming eBay’s first president, there is little more for Jeffrey Skoll to conquer other than the world, which is exactly where he has focused his efforts through Skoll Foundation, Skoll Global Threats Fund, and Participant Media. Skoll is the executive producer of Participant Media’s latest film, Waiting for “Superman,” due out this fall, and his funding has spurred several partnerships aimed at improving the American education system and changing the face of statistics, such as 32 million adults have trouble reading a children’s picture book.

DonorsChoose.org and OfficeMax have joined the WaitingforSuperman.com “Pledge Progress Meter” at the 30,000 and 40,000 levels.
At the 30,000 level, DonorsChoose.org will donate $5 gift cards to every person who pledges by Sept. 15. The gift cards can be used to fulfill requests made by public school teachers from every corner of America who post classroom project needs on DonorsChoose.org. OfficeMax has announced that it will donate school supplies to more than 1,000 teachers when 40,000 people pledge to watch. First Book was the first organization to take the pledge by agreeing to donate 250,000 new books to schools and programs in low-income communities across the country once the pledge meter reaches 50,000 pledges.

Waiting for “Superman,” from filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, takes a look inside public schools, the public school system, and the effect on children and their families. The film also takes inspiration from teachers and education reform leaders to show what successful education programs could do for the United States. Funded by executive producer Jeffrey Skoll, the founder and chairman of Participant Media, along with Diane Weyermann, executive vice president of Documentary Production at Participant Media, Waiting for “Superman” begins prompting political change when it premieres nationwide starting on Sept. 24.

“Take the Pledge” at www.waitingforsuperman.com/home and do your part to ensure that no child gets left behind.